


between waves

by kea (kakuhou)



Category: Fate/EXTRA, Fate/Grand Order
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, warning: hakuno's tentacles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:40:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23483230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kakuhou/pseuds/kea
Summary: An archival work that will be updated with snippets of the GilHaku fics that I'm not sure if I'll give a full work to, but I'm satisfied with as is.1 + 2. Servant Hakuno, Gilgamesh, Ritsuka - Foreigner
Relationships: Gilgamesh | Archer/Kishinami Hakuno, Gilgamesh/Kishinami Hakuno
Comments: 60
Kudos: 106





	1. the problem with harvesting stars 1

“I’m actually really curious. The other Foreigners have some mix of Gods and Goddesses in them— is that true for you, too? They’d be Lovecraftian, right?”

Hakuno looked up from where she was tugging her boots on from her latest Ascension - the second, blood pulsing in her ears, awareness spread over all of Chaldea, and body accepting mana en masse - and hummed a quiet, slow birdsong in affirmation. “I wouldn't say they're Gods or Goddesses, or Lovecraftian in nature, but there are other beings caged inside of me.”

"Hmm… Alien, maybe?" Ritsuka was all half-smiles and slanted looks, blue eyes inquiring and prying. "More than one, too… What do you mean by caged? You’re keeping them dormant?"

Four, to be exact. She didn't quite know this Master that well, though, so Hakuno gave him one long, withdrawn look and answered, "Something like that."

To tell the truth, Hakuno didn't know how to explain her current situation, either. She could easily see her Traits just as well as the Traits of others, and she was clearly labelled a 'Threat to Humanity' despite not desiring any harm to come to Humanity. That Trait—

It was because of those four.

…

Well, there was nothing she could do about it. She was sure her Master already knew. Hakuno pushed her jacket together in the middle, buttoning the insides, and finally stood with a nod. Just keep moving forward.

"It's Berserker day?" A day for Foreigners to shine… She'd have to make sure to provide all of the support to Abigail and Hokusai that they needed, since she was sure those were the two who were heading out with her. "Is there anything I need to bring with me?"

Like MP Potions, Elixirs, Formalcraft— ah, but she didn't have any Formalcrafts, and her skills were… _That sort of thing isn’t necessary, right?_

He was bringing _her_ along for that utility. Hakuno just had to remember that.

Ritsuka laughed a little and added, "Just yourself! We're going with Hokusai and Abby, but I'm bringing Merlin and King Gilgamesh just in case something goes haywire. I might ask Waver to come, too, but if we’re fine with just us....”

He trailed off and Hakuno tuned out.

Merlin and Gil…

If Gilgamesh was coming along, then— "If it's Gil, we'll be fine." Or everything would be shot to hell because he felt like dusting everything around him with excitement. Either way, they'd get the job done.

She was already walking towards the door and away from her Master when she heard it:

"...you know King Gilgamesh?"

For one heart-stopping second, Hakuno debated whether or not she should answer truthfully. There wasn't any reason not to, but Gilgamesh was…

There were three of them in Chaldea. She could sense them all moving about, sometimes lingering all day and all night, sometimes not lingering at all; it was how she avoided them. Hakuno didn't know how to face a Gilgamesh who wouldn't remember her. After all, there was also Enkidu loitering about in Chaldea. He was summoned with her, trailing directly behind her summoning as if he were following her.

Lancer Enkidu took one look at her after summoning and walked away as if he had nothing to do with her.

Berserker hadn't been like that. Hakuno didn't need the memory, but after fusing with those four she was bombarded by the memories of the other timelines, the other struggling Hakunos, so— in the end, she remembered: Berserker was Enkidu before he took on Shamhat's form.

It wasn't like her to be openly emotional.

Hakuno tucked the hurt inside of her heart and kept walking on. She tried to be more like Gilgamesh: steady in her soul, and free in her spirit. It was because of those four, too, that Hakuno was comprised of more stardust than human.

And so—

"No… it's not exactly like that, but I wouldn't say he's unfamiliar, either. It just feels like if it's Gilgamesh, I don't have to worry about the outcome."

"I see…"

It didn't sound as if Ritsuka actually understood, but Hakuno? Honestly, she couldn't find it in her to care about a stranger's opinion. She wasn't being deliberately cruel; she just wasn't the type to take into consideration the interest of someone she didn't know if it didn’t involve their life. He was her Master, but Hakuno knew well the difference between a 'Master' and a 'friend'.

They were off to their destination after whatever that conversation was. Ritsuka greeted the other Servants and Hakuno kept careful track of her own Servants's steps: Enkidu with Caster Gilgamesh, Archer Gilgamesh already at the meeting point with Hokusai and Abigail, kid Gilgamesh with the younger Altera— no, Attila now. Nameless was in the kitchen, and Nero was with Tamamo. It felt like they were expending magical energy; they were likely sparring in another simulator.

Good enough, she supposed. The longer she could put off that train wreck, the longer Hakuno wanted to keep her distance. It seemed like the Servants all remembered some things here and there from their past - Robin Hood had given her several once overs, Gawain had been stupefied, Scathach had lit up and dragged her off to train… There were good reactions and there were bad, the same as there would be good days and bad days. It was just—

Gilgamesh was her Servant. If she didn’t admit to being a little frustrated about the situation, then their time together would disappear from her mind like confetti in the wind.

The door to the training room opened with a soft _hiss_ as if to put the final nail in the coffin of her thoughts. Stepping inside before Ritsuka, Hakuno looked up and—

“Hoh… you’ve kept me waiting, mongrels.”

—flinched at the voice of the one person she never thought she’d hear again.

Abigail and Hokusai were both there as well, tentacles free and flopping lazily over a corner of the control panel where Da Vinci had settled in. Gilgamesh was turning, now, his red eyes finding hers across the room, and Hakuno _almost_ stopped breathing. Grief was rounding its circle back to her.

He looked the same as he always had during their latter battles: armor half gone and golden hair let down, Gilgamesh was the living embodiment of confidence. With her status as a Servant, Hakuno was able to notice something new: his golden soul, his thrumming mana— it all felt pleasant to both look at and lap up.

The mana slinking into her system reminded her: she was still alive. Grief had not won. 

Hakuno stepped forward again so as not to give anything away; Gilgamesh’s smile faltered, though if only for a single moment. His recognition was graceful: it twirled and dipped as if practicing ballet, then traced itself along the edges of his lips in a smile-not-smile that ended the play.

Hakuno was merely the unrefined hedge of coral that had been built up by her own merit, then eaten away at and worn down by time, care, and worry, hanging in there if only to carve the rhythms of Gilgamesh’s storm.

If he didn't say anything, then she wouldn't speak up either. Not yet. She had been right to hesitate when Ritsuka had asked her about him.

Abigail was the first to greet her, dropping from her coils and reverting to the look of a twelve-year-old child. “Hakuno! It’s you!” She found Hakuno’s side with her thick soles, looking up at her with big, sparkling eyes. “I didn’t know you were coming today!”

 _I wouldn’t have transformed_ goes unsaid, hanging in the air by a twine noose. As it swung back and forth, Hokusai’s hands opened and she followed Abigail up with a blank, “Like that little barbarian says: we didn’t think you were ready to come out, but it looks like Mastaa-dono has other plans.”

L-little barbarian… it was true that Abigail was a little more brutal than most, but— no, Hakuno didn’t have a concrete template for children. Altera had been quiet and soft, but overpowered; Alice and Nursery Rhyme had both been cruel little girls, if only for the fact that they thought of what they were doing as “honest play” as little kids were so oft to think.

Still, she felt like calling Abigail a ‘barbarian’ was too much. It was like calling Gilgamesh a ‘mass murderer’; those things didn’t really fit together. Hakuno didn’t really have time to explain it, though, so she shook her head and reached out, rubbing Abigail’s head with a gentle hand.

“Sorry,” she said, awkward in the way that she didn’t want to put too much power into her hand. This second Ascension wasn’t affecting her STR stat too much; however, it was always better to err on the side of caution when it came to these things. “Next time, I’ll be sure to let you know if I end up on-call to come along.”

That seemed like the right thing to say with the way that Abigail beamed up at her with those bright eyes. Satisfied, Abigail took her by the arm and guided her over to Hokusai, ignoring the golden bull in the room who had his eyes on them throughout the entire exchange. Part of Hakuno was a little scared of what he was going to say.

But, for whatever reason, Gilgamesh didn’t address her even once in the time span between her arrival and Merlin’s. Ritsuka held a decent conversation with him before realizing that his attention was elsewhere and, thankfully, diverted his attention to Merlin when he finally walked in with a bounce in his step.

And

he

stopped.

“Ah?!” Pointedly looking between Hakuno and Gilgamesh, Merlin’s smile went wavy. “Eh? Hey. Isn’t this a little awkward? Master, I don’t know if I want to be caught up in a lover’s quarrel. You know, I've already gone through too many of those, and getting involved with the King and Queen's quarrel is too much for me. I might really end up dead!”

…

…

Lover’s quarrel?

King and Queen?

Hakuno couldn’t help mouthing the words, but Ritsuka was already setting up the area’s information, so he wasn’t paying attention to anyone. Idly, Merlin began wandering over to where she stood with the other two Foreigners despite what he'd said, mumbling something that sounded like _looks like you brought something nasty with you here_ , but…

“If you get any closer to her, Mage of Flowers, a swift death awaits you.”

The Gilgamesh who’d said not a single word their way suddenly spoke up, warning Merlin of the certain death that lay in wait for him wherever his destination may be. Those words had Merlin stopping in his tracks and turning to that king, eyes wide in surprise.

“Okay, we’re all good to go!” Ritsuka stepped back from the controls and Da Vinci stepped in, smilingly taking over the controls. “Everyone ready?”

Hokusai’s hands grabbed one of her arms, the glowing tips of her brushes marking her brown coat in their idleness. Hakuno didn’t manage to catch what they were writing before she was nodding her ascent and accepting the curl of Abigail’s arms around her waist.

They were ready as well.

Gilgamesh’s soft _hmph_ followed Hakuno’s affirmation and he shifted his entire body towards her, knocking the order out before Ritsuka completely ray shifted them into the Berserker field. Abigail ended up pushed to the back with Merlin as Gilgamesh took point before Hakuno and behind Hokusai. He was unmindful of the hem and hum of the little paper cranes flying about in front of him, but a few decided to get a little too comfortable with her and weaved through her hair.

 _Birdsong_ , they'd whispered, dangling their words on each strand they touched. _You've toiled and now you offer us your beautiful songs._ And before she knew it, Hakuno's hair had been tied up in braids with cranes, their first enemies appearing: a golem of stone, another of iron, and a zombie in the back.

"Get lost, you insolent fool." Gilgamesh's words flew out as deftly as his gates opened, rippling around them. The old man at his back was smiling thinly, a kaleidoscope of colors cascading around them. With the way the jewels caught the light, Hakuno couldn't tell if they were each a different color jewel, or if they were all blank slates. 

Hokusai had already darted forth with her multi-colored brushes, focusing on the zombie in the back as opposed to the streams of weapons impaling the golems. There were more jewels flying around and— and Hakuno was sure that that wasn't _her_ Rin, but it was Tohsaka Rin nonetheless in a flashy red dress, lending her aid to the Foreigner she'd been assigned to without glancing any one else's way.

A gloved hand gently enclosed around Hakuno's shoulder and brought her back to the present time.

Right.

Hakuno didn't have time to worry.

"How will you proceed?" Twice H. Pieceman filled the spot by her side and hummed, his eyes narrowed at the backs of the other two Servants. "Better yet... Shall we make this battle a little more smooth? There’s no need for anyone to suffer if we can end it in one turn.”

Nodding, Hakuno answered, "...please bring out the Moon Cell's core."

As the Sovereign of the Moon Cell, she would allow Twice’s temporary use of the core to make the fight faster. The less time it took them to finish, the quicker they would be able to go home and lick their wounds.

—

Ritsuka kept score the entire bout.

Gilgamesh made Hokusai and Hakuno step back during the first wave and cleared it with his NP. That racked up three enemies for him to start out, the cheerful sound of his laughter booming across the training area.

Thankfully, it didn't phase Hakuno one bit.

The second wave involved taking down two Shadow Servants, and Hokusai ended up slamming her brushes into both of them with Hakuno's guidance once Gilgamesh cleared out the crystalline golem. Ritsuka could easily tell that she was a Master before; the way she moved screamed active support from the back, her presence sticking to the two Servants before her like a second and third shadow.

And the third wave...

Honestly, he felt a little bad for Lancelot. He was stunned the first turn Hakuno used her Noble Phantasm, sending Gilgamesh into an energetic feeding frenzy that had him amused enough to drag Hokusai behind him by the arm and Hakuno over his shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes. He'd have to be careful when putting them together from now on— if Gilgamesh was this handsy with Hakuno around, he feared for the sanity of his other Servants.

Ritsuka could see it now: Gilgamesh with his hand up Hakuno’s shirt as Iksander laughs and enables him in his harassment. Or: Gilgamesh with Hakuno over his shoulder again, but this time Emiya is hollering about the way that he’s handling a virile young lady.

Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm cleared the last wave and made Ritsuka give the okay to repeat it until Lancelot handed over enough Berserker Monuments to ascend Raikou and Ibaraki-Doji. Hakuno's charges were reliable, Gilgamesh's damage was always consistent, and Hokusai always seemed to share the enemies's focus. There were rarely any attacks that got through the great golden wall of Gilgamesh, or the unerring waves of Hokusai's brush strokes, so while Hakuno came out of it wounded they were cosmetic, light wounds.

Granted, Gilgamesh wasn't happy with that, either, but there was nothing that Ritsuka could do other than throw his healing spells down. Any time that Hakuno’s body took more than a little scratch, Ritsuka’s normally aloof golden king rose up from his throne and destroyed everything in sight.

Watching that same golden Servant _tsk_ and _tch_ his way through applying medicine on Hakuno's body was surreal. He kept murmuring soft, sweet nothings to her, and Ritsuka just—

He really had to wonder what their relationship was. The Gilgamesh that he knew wasn't this gentle with anyone: Enkidu warranted no worries and Altria, as in love as Gilgamesh claimed to be with her, was simply mocked. He was fine ignoring his younger self, and as for his Master— _It might be amusing if you were injured enough to warrant the King's care_.

"How much more do you plan on inconveniencing me, Hakuno?" So, they knew each other after all. Abigail and Hokusai had already gone back to their rooms and Merlin, always smiling, lingered near the exit with watchful eyes. "You have the resilience of a Servant, but you're still my soft-hearted Master."

The last time that Ritsuka checked, _he_ was Gilgamesh’s Master and he’d been acknowledged as such.

"...I'll be more cautious in the future."

"As you should be," he frowned, pinching Hakuno's bandaged nose with his gloveless fingers. "You may have the strongest Servant at your side, but your recklessness should still have a limit."

Hakuno's smile was pained when she cracked it, eyes narrowed and mana— throbbing? Just as Ritsuka thought that, his hand felt a distinct shock.

He looked down, frowning, and found one of his command spells missing.

While a missing command spell wasn’t too concerning, Ritsuka couldn’t remember using it— he might’ve been so caught up taking score earlier to have noticed, though.

 _Yeah. That’s probably it_.

The command spells regenerated after a day, so… He’d look over the battle footage later.

"A limit, huh?" Gilgamesh's fingers pulled away, only to be replaced by his palm cupping over her cheek in a movement more tender than Ritsuka thought that the king was capable of. "If our Master tells me to go, it's my duty to go."

The air went electric with tension and Gilgamesh’s face cracked like the eggs Emiya used for bentos. His mouth split and his brow raised, his eyes glowing an ominous red.

"Talking back to the king?"

"Isn't it my right?"

 _Uh-oh_. This wasn’t the time for him to be worrying about an errant command spell. Ritsuka moved forward to try and do damage control, but...

An aborted snort escaped Gilgamesh as he finally pulled away to cross his arms over his chest, his eyes bright and his expression alight with life. "Your right?" And he finally _laughed_ , throwing his head back in— joy? His smile from ear to ear, making his entire body glow with satisfaction. "Fuahahaha! Mongrel, you're always making me laugh!"

Mash walked around Merlin in the entrance way just in time to catch Gilgamesh - the King of Heroes, untouchable and arrogant, uncompromising in his beliefs and opinions - yell out a sharp " _But you're right!_ ," and lean over to plant his mouth on Hakuno's as if there weren't people around them with their eyes on the scene.

Da Vinci easily cut in:

"Right! I understand now!" Did she? Ritsuka sure didn't. "We should add it to her profile: 'The 'Queen of Heroes' who tamed the wild King of Heroes'!"

...

What?

—

Gilgamesh sucked everything inside of his former room with a flourished wave of his hand, smiling ear-to-ear in satisfaction. What else could he call the curling warmth in his chest, the stretch in his arms, his legs; bless the Moon Cell, truly, the pathetic, meritless rock it had been to try and delete what was his own. The only way that Kishinami Hakuno would die would be by his own hands choking the life out of her— he'd told her that, too, and the flat look he'd received for it made him cranky at the time.

But.

He was a little grateful for it now, foolish as it was.

Leaving the room empty, he stepped out and took an immediate right to follow the trail of mana leading up to Hakuno's room. She leaked her mana, both taking in and giving, tasting of only the finest sweets he had in his treasury. He must have fed and indulged her to the tips of her toes. Like a well-trained animal, Hakuno’s heart clung to his existence and refused to let him go.

The most pleasing fact of all was that she was both his Hakuno _and_ his wife.

He was looking forward to the look on the other Servants’s faces when they realized that she didn’t remember them. But what he was looking forward to even moreso was the pleasure he’d inflict on Hakuno’s form—

Shivering, Gilgamesh ended his walk at Hakuno’s open door and his gates opened, dumping his throne in the corner, Taiga’s various rewards all around it, and dropped two glasses and a bottle of wine on the stand next to his throne. Hakuno jolted off of her bed in alarm; he didn’t give her any time to rain her praise on him, however, because he had better things to do: namely, approaching her and grabbing her by the face so that he could kiss her fully.

Ah, it was still as satisfying as it was when he kissed her in the simulation room. A tremor lined her body and that very same delicate body leaned into his, seeking the pleasure that he could provide for her.

“—you’re actually moving in here?” She had the audacity to question him, pressing her smooth fingertips against his lips in some foolish abortive attempt to keep him from kissing her again. “I shouldn't have doubted how serious you were."

"As long as you've learned your lesson," Gilgamesh conceded, nipping against her fingers. "Why should a King sleep separate from his Queen?"

Her face wiped of any and all emotion, but her voice managed a strangled, "I thought you forgot!" And just as he was about to deliver a harsh rebuttal and force her back into bed, Hakuno followed it up with a soft, "I wasn't... I wasn't going to force you, or chase you. If you forgot—"

"What would you have done?"

The question had her frowning. The voice she let out, however, was stronger in contrast to her previous one, and her answer sent a thrill down his spine: "I... would have watched over you and made sure that I always supported you. Ritsuka seems like a really nice guy, but he has my problem now: he's human, so there's a limit to what he can do. Velber is within me, so I can support you better no—"

And he kissed her, pushing her hand out of the way and tangling his fingers in her soft hair to press his hand to the back of her head along with the bunched up bundle he'd grabbed, pressing into her so her back arced back. As per usual, Gilgamesh had made a perfect choice in his acknowledgement of his mongrel; she was devoted entirely to him, her heart soft, but strong and audacious enough to believe herself capable of reaching out and holding him up.

However... There was a problem in what she said.

_So, it's the Umbral Star._

His mouth pulled away, leaving Hakuno's moist lips behind. "Tell me, just how much sway does that carnivorous star have over your mental state?" She seemed in power, but this was the second Ascension's look and feel. What would happen if Ritsuka took her to that last step? "While you have my special permission to show the king your weakness, I won't be pleased if you show me something unpleasant. The debt you'll incur will be more than you can repay for your entire lifetime."

Hakuno's lips pursed. He pressed her into their bed, the red and gold silk brushing over her body in waves and pushing her to curl further against him and say, "—no. There's nothing to worry about, Gilgamesh. Inside of me, there's also..."

His hand left her hair and pressed over her chest, his fingers fanning over her heart. Yes, there was _also_ something else inside of her, choking the life out of the Umbral Star in his place. Presumptuous as it was, it seemed like those presences were keeping it at bay. Hakuno's body existed as a container for that overwhelmingly malicious presence, much like it was tasked to give birth to his children.

How unamusing.

"Given the circumstances, I will allow those three to exist inside of you for the sole purpose of keeping the Umbral Star under their thumb. However, should they ever falter, I will deliver a swift punishment," and as for right now, "While they safeguard your autonomy, I will keep your physical body next to mine so that you never forget to whom you belong."

Hakuno's hands raised and her thumbs pressed to his forehead while her other fingers touched the sides of his head, rubbing at his face in slow circles that slowly worked out the frown on his face and the anger in his brow. "Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say," she said, her body finally relaxing beneath his just as it should. Her face moved, warm lips pressing to his cheek as she murmured _I'm home, Gil_.

Home. Hakuno's hands left his face so that she could wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him in with a soft exhale. Gilgamesh slid his hands over her legs and she obediently opened them for his body to slide in between them, slot in snug and tight as she rubbed her legs against his hips like some seductress with a steadfast goal.

As if to confirm his thoughts, Hakuno's heels pressed into the curve of his hind end and her mouth found his neck, making quick work of marking his flawless skin with little red blotches.

 _Well, then_. 

Who was he to deny her the affection that her body begged him for so sweetly?

(Later, a frazzled Nero would cry that the King of Heroes looked love drunk and refused to let “her Praetor” speak to her. “He’s hoarding her away in his room like a dragon hiding its beautiful jewels! It’s not fair, Master! My Praetor has been taken away by a madman!”)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to the hell known as "rian's end notes trivia".
> 
> 1\. as shown by the ar tapestry, gilgamesh is a rather affectionate, indulgent husband (he's a good husband! who knew?). hakuno HAS been spoiled and will continue to BE spoiled.
> 
> 2\. hakuno remembers the other timelines because of the umbral star and archimedes's connection. the slides have registered and organized themselves, dissolving into her brain— however, she doesn't take responsibility for the other servants that had been used by her. she belongs to the gilgamesh route of fate/extra ccc and her previous servant was a berserker. there are no residual feelings for anyone else.
> 
> however, a(n annoyed, grumbling) testimony was taken by an anonymous, golden source regarding hakuno's interactions with those servants: "that faker! hitting on someone else's wife— the nerve! and that demon fox... hiding her true nature after attempting to kill us, clinging to hakuno's arm and calling her 'husband' with that sickly sweet voice. audacious! as for you, roman emperor: do not test my magnanimity."
> 
> the truth of the matter is that hakuno LIKES tamamo's fluffy tails, emiya's cooking, and nero's liveliness.
> 
> as for enkidu, well... i hadn't quite planned far enough to deal with that particular headcanon. ideas?
> 
> 3\. ereshkigal makes funny faces whenever she runs into hakuno.
> 
> 4\. hakuno's existence is tied down by her memories of gilgamesh and the sheer destructive force of the umbral star and its three children using her as a vessel. her last ascension involves hakuno in a golden/black themed jumpsuit, much like kingprotea (without the separations).
> 
> 5\. hakuno is a np-charging support/utility servant whose np gives gilgamesh a delayed 100% charge to his np bar. she has the same hp as abigail and the same atk as hokusai.
> 
> 6\. as far as passives go, she's packed. A specific passive allows her to find any servant she has a connection with no matter where they are.
> 
> 7\. unfortunately, she's always sucking up and putting out mana and cannot control it.
> 
> 8\. her bond ce is the moon cell's regalia, but instead of it by itself, it's the regalia inside of gilgamesh's gates that was given to him as a present the night of this fic. ritsuka never gets the actual regalia because gilgamesh doesn't share, but is instead blessed with the knowledge that it exists.
> 
> thank you for reading!


	2. the problem with harvesting stars 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ritsuka, briefly, on Hakuno and Gilgamesh; and Gilgamesh, on Hakuno.
> 
> A brief meeting preluding a brief battle.

“Oh. You guys are together again.”

Ritsuka made that astute observation as he walked into Hakuno’s room for what felt like the eightieth time that week to find Gilgamesh laying down on her bed with his head resting in Hakuno’s lap. The bed was still adorned in the same red and gold sheets and pillows while a thick golden-lined comforter sat at the end of the bed, directly in Gilgamesh’s kicking distance. 

As for the room— it was progressively becoming more and more colorful to match the general theme that Ritsuka had seen the room take on once Gilgamesh began frequenting it. Where was she getting the drapes? The decorative pillows were stacked all around and at the foot of her bed with the blanket and on top of the red velvet cake of weirdness there was a giant lion plush sitting next to the golden throne in the corner of the room. Was this someone else’s room?

Before he could speak again and question it, Hakuno - who’d been reading something or another (it looked like a worn out copy of The Little Mermaid) - looked up from her book to greet him while the other hand paused in Gilgamesh’s hair, “Yo, Master.” Had she been hanging out with Karna? “Was there something you needed?”

Something he needed? Archer Gilgamesh was actually sleeping in Hakuno’s bed with his golden head in her lap and she was acting like it was perfectly normal? _Er_...

“Uh… I was just wondering if you wanted to join us for some old school DDR, but…”

Hakuno’s eyes followed his line of vision to the back of Gilgamesh’s head. “...sorry,” she said, sounding genuinely apologetic. “Maybe next time.”

“Right.” _Awkward_. Ritsuka watched the rise and fall of Gilgamesh’s chest beneath the cross of Gilgamesh’s arms, noting that Hakuno had resumed running her hand through his hair as if she were petting a particularly spoiled cat. To his further amazement, Gilgamesh wasn’t waking up and skewering her for it; he seemed more at ease with the current situation than Ritsuka had ever seen him before.

If Gilgamesh was a cat, did that make Hakuno his owner?

—no, he’d better stop thinking about that lest Gilgamesh develop incredible telepathic powers and smite him for his blasphemous thoughts. 

Maybe he’d ask Hakuno about it when he caught her by herself? Foreigners generally spent their time alone from what he’d observed through Abigail’s later Ascension and Hokusai’s tendency to lock herself up in her room to draw until she ran out of inspiration, but… it was a little weird. After their first mission together, Hakuno had been swept away by Gilgamesh into some sort of inside joke that they wouldn’t key Ritsuka in on.

Servants still had their secrets that they weren’t comfortable sharing with him and he was fine with that. If Ritsuka had to be honest about this particular secret, however, then he’d say that he felt a little left out.

...well, he still had one more thing to say. “Will you be going to Uruk with us?” It was during a time when Gilgamesh was rumored to still be ruling the city-state, so— the way that Ritsuka saw it, this strange new Servant was a Gilgamesh Whisperer (and not a Gilgamesh Enabler like Enkidu, or a Gilgamesh Fire Starter like their new Archer, Ishtar). Taking her with them only made sense. “We won’t be able to return for a while— so, I wanted to make sure that you were willing to go. If there’s something else you have planned, no pressure.”

He could _make_ her go. Ritsuka didn’t need to ask his Servants if they wanted to do something, but the lion in the room would become unruly if he didn’t tread carefully. The last thing that Chaldea needed was for the most volatile King of Heroes to go on a rampage for overstepping some bound that Ritsuka himself knew was there.

Or, at least, that was what Ritsuka wanted to say, but Gilgamesh calmed down a lot between the fourth Singularity and now. This was the most docile that Ritsuka had seen him since they met that didn’t involve endless kegs of 100-grade wine. What kind of method was Hakuno using to keep Gilgamesh so calm?

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t be fine. You’re the Master, aren’t you?”

_That’s what you’d think, but you’d be surprised_. Treasuring his little life, Ritsuka laughed and said, “Great! I’ll see you tomorrow, then!”

—

As her Master trotted out of her room, Hakuno found herself back in the reprieve of silence that she’d been in before Ritsuka came inside of. Hans allegedly made a sequel to The Little Mermaid’s tragedy, so she was really curious about what happened next— so much so that she ended up letting it slip to Kiara that Chaldea’s library was out of copies. Her face had slackened completely when this morning came with a well-loved copy being handed to her by a small, irritated author.

Hakuno hadn’t even needed to ask. She could feel Kiara’s mana singing on every page, humming along with each word.

Unfortunately, her reread wasn’t meant to be.

“That mongrel certainly made his visit quick,” Gilgamesh drawled, voice thick and slow with sleep. “It’s not like him to be so hasty to leave. He usually yaps away like an energetic little dog, but today he simply accomplished the mission he set out to perform and left you to your own devices. Has he gotten sick?”

Gilgamesh had awakened from his nap.

"If you want to check on him, he shouldn't have gotten far yet." She set Kiara's book down next to the pillows and dedicated her attention to Gilgamesh, who seemed fine enough shifting onto his back and yawning big and loud. Her mouth moved automatically, yawning back to him. Contagious!

"Hmph. That's the job of the girl he always has at his side, not the king's. If he's sick, there are plenty of Servants ready to trip over themselves to help him with his every need." _Yeah, Gil's got this personality, after all_. "Don't mistake my idle words for concern."

"Right." Ritsuka had the right idea to run away from the grumpy King of Heroes post-awakening. Most didn't know how to deal with him when he got into one of his moods. Hakuno set both hands over the sides of his head, ruffling his golden locks. "It looks like the next Singularity will be in Uruk."

Uruk... It was the city-state that Gilgamesh had been born in. He ruled there as King, and he died there as King. Similarly, it was the place that he met, beat up, and befriended Enkidu. Hakuno didn't think that she'd ever get to see it outside of Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and Sefar's memories, but she was actually going to visit it in its prime...!

To be frank, she was a little excited. How would it compare to the glittering expanse of gold, to that sea of lights, to the overwhelming vacuum of space—? Would it look like how Gilgamesh's humming sounded?

"You're excited over something like this?" One of Gilgamesh's eyes peeled open, peering up at her with a certain shine that had her heart fluttering around in her chest. He reached up towards her face, bringing his fingers through the hair that had fallen over her shoulder and forcing her to notice the way his shirt rode up and revealed the creamy skin beneath it. 

One feeler buzzed beneath the skin of her back.

He was making her into a pervert who noticed weird things— 

"I suppose your starry eyes are a fitting reaction for the first and greatest city you'll ever lay your pleasant eyes on. Hmmm... It may be worth seeing the look on your face for myself."

His other eye opened and the molten look he directed towards her had her insides scrambling for cover. His hand brought Hakuno's hair to his lips for a whispery kiss; her cheeks heated at his following murmur of _how lovely will that foolish face of yours become when basked in Uruk's sunrise?_

"It'll be nice," she admitted out loud, her hands slipping through Gilgamesh's hair as he pushed himself to ride with one hand, bringing the other to stroke at her waist, "to see the place you were born with my own eyes. We were travelling for so long..."

Gilgamesh's face leaned in to hers, the smile on his face both breezy and amused. "Hoh? Because we were travelling?"

Too close...! Hakuno's heart thumped in her chest and she resolutely leaned back, not wanting to be consumed by Gilgamesh's intent eyes. "We never stayed in one place for too long," she answered, pushing her hands against his chest to keep his fire in place. "So, I wanted to see what your home looked like. Since..."

Despite the hands on his chest, Gilgamesh pushed forward and took Hakuno's waist in both of his hands, urging her to slowly lie back. She followed the movement until her back hit the bed and her head touched the pillows, automatically opening her arms to accept him as he came to rest beside her.

It didn't work out the way she intended. Hakuno ended up drawn into his arms instead with her face tucked near his chin, giving her room enough to rest her hands on him once more; her body went alight with warmth, her mouth breathing out a soft, drawn out sigh as if answering the warm embrace she'd landed herself in.

The words hunted for their freedom from her throat, embarrassing, but true: "Since— it didn't matter where we were. As long as I was with you, I was home. It's only fair that I get to see yours."

Gilgamesh's deep, purr-like chuckles followed his tight embrace, his legs sliding over and between hers as his face ventured oh so very close to hers. "None of that silver tongue, Hakuno, lest you seek to whet my appetite," he crooned, nose brushing up against hers affectionately. She was able to slide an arm underneath and another over him before he continued at the skim of her hands over his clothed back, "No... Even your eyes have grown heated. Tell me, Hakuno: have you finally awakened the passion that was sleeping inside of you, or is it that I've been staring right at it all of this time and you've simply chosen to let it free for your husband's sake?"

Little tingles came alive at the base of her neck and traced the line of her spine in a long, cascading shiver. Unable to resist, Hakuno pressed herself chest-to-chest with Gilgamesh and brushed their lips together in a shy, fleeting kiss - the only kind that her embarrassment allowed - while answering, "Or maybe it's _because_ you're my husband that it's fine for me to be like this now."

Right. She shouldn't have anything to be afraid of. Gilgamesh could be mercurial, but he was never unreasonable.

Gilgamesh didn't mince words to use in reply to her deadpan answer. Instead, he better used his energy and air to dive into her lips, licking into her mouth in a motion so smooth that it knocked a breathy moan out of her throat. _Honestly_ — he just woke up from the nap he took after sleeping with her this morning. Was he trying to set a record? Was his fuse this short after all? Not truly minding it, Hakuno's fingers curled in his shirt and her tongue eagerly responded in kind to Gilgamesh's, her eyes sliding shut.

Air rushed at the back of her neck. Hakuno felt the back of her head fully touch the pillow as opposed to Gilgamesh's arm, eyes opening halfway to watch Gilgamesh slide over her as if he was a big cat, an elbow hitting the pillow at the side of her head as his knees dug into the bed around one of her knees. His free hand slipped up her side, idly tracing the lines of her—

"Ah... I forgot." That last Ascension dyed her in Velber's colors, but neglected to acknowledge that Hakuno's strongest connection was not with herself. Her brightest, strongest connection was with this golden Servant she'd married as a Master and stayed with serving the same Master as a Servant. As such, those colors, meant to be dismal and dark, were black with lines of gold following her originally weak circuits around her body— that was what Gilgamesh traced his fingers against. "I'm not taking too much mana from you, am I?"

"Hmm. As if you were capable." Gilgamesh dragged his fingers beneath the curve of her left breast, humming. "...how does it feel to be taking in mana from everything around you?"

How did it feel? ... _ah, well_... "It feels..." How was she supposed to describe the ache deep in her stomach that spread deep in her bones? "...like no matter how much I eat, I can't fill my stomach."

She took and she took, body accepting the mana in the air, in the people, the planet, but Hakuno felt how a half-empty tank looked: constantly filled to the halfway line and never filling passed. Whether or not she ate proper food never seemed to make a difference; she was always taking in mana, so she didn't have the ability to test it, but... what if she were able to stop? Would Hakuno be able to see the bottom of her stomach?

"I see," he replied, truly seeing despite not being able to completely empathize. "Your body simply eats everything it perceives to be food, much like the Umbral Star itself. Even if you wanted to stop, you wouldn't be able to."

"Unfortunately."

Gilgamesh's hand groped at her chest, pointedly bringing her attention back to his priority. Hakuno's stomach was roused up in response, bubbling with excitement.

(The Umbral Star began to sing.)

"—but what does that matter? Knowing that you've drained his Command Spells before, that little fool will continue to bring you with him for the support you offer," he reasoned, deliberately dragging his hand down her body; liquid heat followed. "He doesn't understand how dire the situation will be. By bringing you along and keeping you close, he makes a sacrifice by his own choice."

The way that Gilgamesh spoke made Hakuno think that he was blaming Ritsuka for her deficiency. _If he were stronger, he wouldn't lose a Command Spell to you._ It sounded precisely like what Gilgamesh would say in his bias, if Hakuno knew him to have that bias.

Oh, who was she kidding?

If it was she or Enkidu, Gilgamesh's eyes glazed over and his Clairvoyance shut off so quick his brain shuttered and narrowed in on their existences. Their fault? No, no, the other person could have been stronger. Smarter. Quicker. Perhaps he was right in his own way, but Hakuno wasn't the kind of person who wouldn't take responsibility for what she'd done.

Her segmented jumpsuit scattered into fine golden dust as Gilgamesh insistently pushed his fingers down the slope of her stomach, drifting dangerously close to the areas that Hakuno wanted him inside of the most.

"Do not spare him another thought," Gilgamesh whispered, leaning over to push his mouth against the underside of her jaw and prompting her to tilt her head. "Your focus should be on me and me alone. Cast aside your worries, your cares— give yourself over to me. You need not fret inside of my arms."

_He doesn't seem to realize that he's the one in the most danger._

Even now, her feelers ached to unfurl and wrap around him; to drag him inside of her after she opened her rib cage to receive him... It was the Umbral Star's deepest desire, and yet Hakuno tucked it in between her soul and mind, not allowing it to see the light of day.

If Gilgamesh wasn't worried, then she shouldn't worry. That was the crux of his words. All that Hakuno had to do was follow them and—

A finger brushed in between her folds and a shiver shot up her spine, a familiar wetness coating her eyes. Gilgamesh didn't miss her knee jerk reaction and smiled, leaning into her with a soft, _that's right, entrust your body to me_.

Don't think.

So, she wouldn't. 

—

When she came to, the tickle in her back had become a writching ache.

She hummed Gilgamesh’s name against his lips, locking her legs around his back as he slid himself home inside of her. He didn’t stop until he reached the base, breathing out in a long sigh as their bodies met with a soft noise; _Good_ , Hakuno thought. _Gilgamesh feels best inside of me_.

Hakuno didn’t quite understand _why_ it felt so good to have Gilgamesh inside of her, but each Velber went so quiet that she didn’t feel them anymore when he did. Her aching limbs turned to jelly and warmth cascaded her senses, not just her insides— his mana was pure golden heat. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling Gilgamesh's face closer to hers so that she could kiss him in thanks.

Giggling a bit when Gilgamesh purred against her lips, Hakuno flexed her insides around Gilgamesh’s cock and stretched her legs out in a slow kick, burying her fingers inside of Gilgamesh’s hair in time for her legs to return around his body. It made his hips stutter and begin to sway back and forth, rubbing against her insides without moving much beyond it.

“Comfortable?” How could she not be? Gilgamesh felt wonderful: his body was heated, his cock was all smooth skin and hard ridges, his mana was flowing into her naturally everywhere they were touching, and there was a gooey, lava-like weight in her stomach, shooting warmth through all of her limbs. “Hoh…? Here you are, revealing your true nature, unashamedly clinging to the king… This greedy body keeps sucking me in, Hakuno.”

Her ears caught wind of Gilgamesh’s soft grunt of _it’s unparalleled_ before her hips twitched in response to the drag and return of Gilgamesh’s member as he began to move. Deliriously happy, Hakuno thought, _you are my stomach, and my spine_. Filling her up over and over again, pouring himself into the empty space that she could never consider _half-full_.

Hakuno wanted to tell Gilgamesh just how good he felt.

No, Hakuno _needed_ Gilgamesh to know. It didn’t matter how much it inflated his ego, or how smug he’d be afterwards. If Gilgamesh was happy, then that was all the better, wasn’t it? A happy King of Heroes was a King of Heroes who wouldn’t cause any trouble. It was a King of Heroes who bestowed favor like all that he knew was how to be gracious and kind.

A happy Gilgamesh was a Gilgamesh who smiled sweetly and whispered gentle, loving words in her ears; he peppered kisses over her head, her face, her shoulders…

She could continue living for a Gilgamesh who held nothing back.

How could that ever be a bad thing?

“Did you know?” Her mouth moved without any further argument needed inside of her mind as she rolled her hips in response to the pump of Gilgamesh’s hips. “You’re filling me up.”

His lips curved into a devilish smirk. It was the last thing her eyes saw before she closed her eyes again, devoting herself to the feeling of each slide and push of Gilgamesh inside of her. “Yes, that _is_ the point,” he told her, breath ghosting over her lips. Her fingers dug into Gilgamesh’s scalp, sparking flying through her veins as Gilgamesh’s hips sped up their assault. “You merely need to entrust yourself to me, Hakuno.”

She knew that. Hakuno was very clear that Gilgamesh was everything she needed and more: he was her breath, her life, her love— ah, but she really didn’t want Gilgamesh to be everything. What would she do when she inevitably lost him to the Throne of Heroes?

If she didn’t want to lose him, then Hakuno would need to consume him. That was what the fire inside of her body was telling her, the feelers beneath her skin shooting themselves at the tips into a frenzy as if they sensed blood in the water and couldn't get to it fast enough.

—it was like this every time they made love. The desire to devour Gilgamesh and fill in her empty gaps made her gut curl and her nails drag down the back of his neck, clenching over the backs of his shoulders, clawing at his spine— it was all that she could do to keep herself from opening her great maw and accepting all of Gilgamesh into her body, her soul. Her mind coveted him like a great fire held forests beloved.

Like Velber yearned for the taste of sentient life, thick and warm on its tongue.

Hakuno’s mouth moved, following the line of Gilgamesh’s jaw to his neck; he snapped his hips as she bit down, grinding into her with force.

Yes.

Gilgamesh was her stomach.

He worshiped at the cradle of her hips and he cleansed her with his hot hands, his slit red eyes, until she no longer knew where to go in her thoughts if it wasn’t in his direction. Gilgamesh wasn’t happy just preoccupying her body. And, Hakuno— she was fine with that, strangely enough.

He fueled the pits of her stomach when they were together; when Gilgamesh was away, the hunger gnawed at her insides, Velber’s miasma clawing at the lining of her stomach.

Her thoughts flew out of her head as the sound of gravel in her ears, “Hakuno, what has you so preoccupied?” His breath fanned over her ear, lips and teeth finding the curve and flashing over her in his displeasure. “Let’s hear it.”

“What’s on my mind… You want to hear it...” She murmured against Gilgamesh’s skin, kissing down his neck with slow, wet kisses. _Hmmm_... “How good you feel.” That was the only thing that was on her mind, other than, “And how much I love you.”

She couldn’t see Gilgamesh’s face, but she was sure the wave of mana that washed over her senses belonged to Gilgamesh’s pleasure. Each roll of his hips brought another veil of it and she wondered, briefly, when she’d slip on the stone face of it.

Yes.

Gilgamesh was her spine.

“I’m never full, but you’re filling me up.” Gilgamesh’s hands drew away from the bed and gripped her hips, lifting them off of the bed so that he could angle her upwards as he lifted himself onto his knees. One of his hands curled around her waist, sending her own hands to the dark pillow beneath her head, the red sheets she was lifted off of. “ _Mm_...”

The new position sent sparks flying through her legs and heat, ever present throughout her body, settled inside of her thighs and fanned out to spread into her rumbling stomach.

It continued on well after Gilgamesh had finished them off and contented himself to lie behind her with his fingertips fluttering over her hips and sides and his front pressed to her back. She rested her head on his arm, enjoying their shared heat as she waited for her nerves to turn shy under her skin once more.

For the six hungry claws inside of her back to stop moaning over their chance to taste.

“You’ve become like the moon,” he murmured, nursing the skin on the back of Hakuno’s neck with his lips and teeth. “I'm starting to suspect that this fusion with the Umbral Star is doing you more harm than good. Your mind slips from my attentions as if you were sand sifting through my fingers... And you're trying so hard to keep it hidden.”

_From me_ , his mouth continued silently, breathing the words into her skin. Shivers wracked her frame and she conceded that he was right. Hakuno didn’t want to show Gilgamesh everything because showing him everything meant that he would have to combat the part of her that wanted to swallow him whole.

And, _ah_ , how she wanted to swallow him into her gullet.

His idle hand stopped and his fingers fanned over her waist, his face burying in her shoulder as he continued to the drop of her eyelids, “What should I do with you, I wonder..."

—

Hakuno dreamt of falling.

From space, of course, and when she awoke, it was to static in the air too intense to be called chemistry. Gilgamesh slept on as content and sweet as a happy cat; Hakuno couldn’t bring herself to wake him up, so she dropped her lips over the crown of his golden head and rolled out of bed with air filling the yawning void of her hunger.

She felt— light. Weightlessness from free falling in her mind’s home had Hakuno back in her clothes after a quick shower and out the door, guiding her floating feet down the hall and towards where she felt her Master’s mana.

_There’s something else, though_...

What was it that kept tugging on her senses, yearning for her to turn its way? _Old magic_ , was the only answer inside of her mind. It was rare to find an answer so unified between three or four beings that were desperately trying to find their sense of selves.

“Ah, it’s Hakuno,” came the soft voice of Gilgamesh’s friend from behind her, yanking her out of the daze that guided her to the room her Master was in with Romani and Da Vinci. Her eyes following the twinkle of mana in the air leading to him (leading to her?), finding him smiling like—

_What is this_ , was the soft hiss in her right ear. An echo of _Enkidu, he—_ was cut off by Sefar’s sharp red eyes. Hakuno could hear and see them so clearly.

As clearly as Enkidu pressing into the distance of her established personal space.

“Gilgamesh was still sleeping, wasn’t he? He’ll be so frustrated to find you gone from his side,” but Enkidu’s smile was liquid warm because, Hakuno surmised, that Gilgamesh was his favorite, “Don’t worry. Knowing him, he’ll find his way to your side in Uruk.”

Her tongue heavy and her throat filled with cotton, Hakuno managed to eek out a small, “Master can set up a summoning circle later,” as if she didn’t understand what Enkidu was saying, that she didn’t know he was talking about the other Gilgamesh in his time without Enkidu.

He seemed to understand, though.

That was why they couldn’t talk right now. There was someone waiting for Hakuno in Uruk, in a place where he sat, withstanding something that normal people could not simply because he was the King.

“...yes, Master certainly could,” was his response, deeper than his first light-hearted attempt at engaging her. She felt a little bad for forcing him into auto-response mode. “What will you do if you’re forced to fight him?”

...

Enkidu absolutely understood.

“I don’t want to fight him, but I’ll protect my Master if Gilgamesh attacks. I know he has his reasons, I’ll look toward the northern wind for his answer— it’ll be fine.”

Her honesty eased the heaviness in the air constricting her throat and loosened Enkidu’s lips.

He wasn’t going with them, she found out soon after. Ritsuka was leaving Gilgamesh and Enkidu in Chaldea initially because he’d already formed the team that was leaving, but he’d have a circle set up later to bring them in once communication was properly established between Gilgamesh and Chaldea. 

It was easier that way, Ritsuka reasoned.

“King Gilgamesh and the younger him— they can’t be in the same room as each other, so I’m not sure how he and his older self are gonna act around each other.”

Asking Ritsuka to chance having more than one Gilgamesh in the room was enough to make Mash’s entire body cringe and fold into itself, her opinion choking her chest.

They’d be fine, Hakuno reasoned. 

Gilgamesh was a good and reasonable King.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Instead of a Q&A, I wanted to write a little pinch of the Babylonia segment—
> 
> (As if possessed, Hakuno planted her feet on the floor as Gilgamesh’s - Caster’s, from the look and feel of his mana (familiar and unfamiliar at the same time) - eyes flickered over her from head to toe, his axe stopping the one black-and-gold tentacle that had lashed out to wrap around his spellbook. _Smart_ , he mouthed.
> 
> _Foolish_ , she thought.)
> 
> Caster Gilgamesh still wants to fight to test them. 
> 
> He’s too busy to indulge in romance, but what’s his will always be his, after all.


End file.
